Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme is one of the many ThinkPad X-series that includes many models that transcend the common perception of decorous, sober business machines that the company originally became renowned for. Lenovo has experimented with varied new options together with 2-in-1 convertible devices, tablets, and ultra-slim laptops inside the ThinkPad family, however, all of them still rate construction quality, dependability, and tractability — to a large extent, at least.
Not all experiments are successful — the ThinkPad X1 Carbon’s ill-omened “adaptive keyboard” comes to mind — however overall, Lenovo says, customers have welcome modernization. It helps that despite all these modifications, Lenovo has preserved a number of the foremost distinctive ThinkPad options, like the red TrackPoint within the middle of the keyboard.
The ThinkPad X-series has continuously been about movability, however, you cannot continually get that while not sacrificing power. Lenovo’s flagship ThinkPad X1 Carbon model is slim and lightweight, however, is a lot of of a style statement than a machine designed for work. That is why, Lenovo is leveling that out with the new ThinkPad X1 Extreme, a portable computer that is still comparatively straightforward to hold around however will handle rigorous workloads and even some recreation.
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Is this the most effective laptop computer for inventive professionals on the go, or is it simply an expensive toy for well-paid employees to show off? we have got a full review.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Design
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme comes in an imposingly skinny box, however, its charger and accessories are packed differently. it is not as skinny and light-weight as most of today’s consumer ultraportables, however, it feels terribly durable and well-built. The 1.8kg weight combined with the 18.7mm thickness offer this laptop computer a way of solidness instead of massiveness.
The body is all metal and rectangular with solely the slightest contours on the edges of its boxlike style. there is not any real style aptitude apart from the diagonal ThinkPad emblem in one corner of the lid with a red LED dotting the letter i, and an X1 emblem in the opposite corner.
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme weighs less than the competition and is pretty transportable for a 15-inch laptop computer. At 3.8 pounds, the Lenovo is lighter than the MacBook Pro (4 pounds), ZenBook pro 15 (4.2 pounds), and also the XPS 15 (4.2 pounds). that is no surprise, considering the X1 Extreme is formed from similar mildew as the ultraportable ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2.5 pounds).
Lift the lid and you will realize an equivalent sleek, plush material on the black deck. The soft surface is comfy to rest your wrists on once writing, and it is not cold just like the industrial aluminum we thus usually see. sadly, the coating attracts fingerprints, and it is not simple to wipe clean, either.
There is no misinterpretation of the X1 Extreme for any price aside from a ThinkPad. Its style has all the mainstays that go along with the sobriquet, as well as a red inform stick, 3 red-trimmed clickers on top of the touchpad, and splendidly rounded keyboard keys. there’s a circular power button at the upper-right corner of the deck and (another) rectangular Lenovo emblem underneath the display.
The thin bezels around the display enabled Lenovo to cut back the laptop’s overall footprint. At 14.2 x 9.7 x 0.7 inches, the X1 Extreme takes up extra space than the Dell XPS fifteen (14.1 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches) and Apple MacBook Pro (13.8 x 9.5 x 0.6 inches), however the Lenovo is additional compact than the Asus ZenBook pro fifteen (14.4 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches). needless to say, the 14-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (12.7 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches) is significantly smaller than its 15.6-inch relation.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Display
If battery life and price are not a priority for you, take the X1 Extreme’s extraordinary 4K (3840 x 2160) HDR touch-screen display over the matte, 1080p choice. elaborated and exploding with vivid, saturated colors, this is often without a doubt one amongst the most effective 15.6-inch displays on a consumer-grade business laptop computer or any laptop computer for that matter.
The trailer I watched of the forthcoming X-Men film, Dark Phoenix, was interesting on the much bezel-less 4K model. throughout the slow-motion automobile crash, I could see the tiniest shards of glass floating harmlessly, inches far from a young Jean Gray. I additionally detected an implausible amount of detail in James McAvoy’s face through a close-up shot, from the small cracks in his bright red lips to the tiniest lines on his forehead.
The exceptionally vivacious colors on the HDR panel leap off the screen; actually, I used to be thus captivated by the pictures it created that I felt an urge to rewatch my favorite movies simply to experience them in such scintillating color and detail. In Dark Phoenix, Mystique’s bright red hair seemed like it had been dipped in a very bucket of paint, and McEvoy’s blue eyes glistened like sapphire gemstones. Even Windows ten icons got new life by the richness of this display.
But whereas white balance appeared correct, color saturation was exaggerated to the point of being lurid. as a result of this, exposure editors who would like correct tones ought to got to use a color standardization software package to dial things down. On a positive note, I had no problems using the X1 Extreme’s touch screen to browse the net and draw pictures in Paint 3D.
At most of 366 nits, the X1 Extreme’s display is additionally terribly bright, though different panels are even a lot bright. for instance, the dell XPS’ display reached a glaring 447 nits of brightness, and therefore the 2K panel on the Thinkpad X1 Carbon maxed out at 469 nits. The displays on the MacBook Pro (354 nits), the ZenBook pro fifteen (330 nits), and therefore the premium laptop computer average (310 nits) are dimmer.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Performance
The X1 Extreme lives up to its name once it involves performance — this laptop computer is blazingly quick. Our check unit, which came equipped with an Intel Core i7-8750H processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, did not stutter once I loaded fifteen Google Chrome tabs and ran multiple 1080p YouTube videos. From there, the laptop computer rapidly opened the LinkedIn app and played Microsoft Solitaire with no lag. I then played an HD Twitch stream and noticed only temporary slowdowns once shift between browser tabs.
The X1 Extreme additionally has one of the quickest hard drives we’ve tested. The business machine’s 1TB PCIe-NVME OPAL2.0 M.2 SSD required only five seconds to duplicate 4.97GB of mixed-media files for a rate of 1,017 megabytes per second. That score did not quite reach the soaring heights of the MacBook Pro (2TB; 2,724 MBps), however, it outpaced the ZenBook pro fifteen (512GB NVMe PCIe SSD; 424 MBps) and also the XPS fifteen (256GB M.2 PCIe SSD; 391 MBps).
We saw an equally robust performance on our laboratory tests. The X1 Extreme scored a high score of 22,021 on the Geekbench 4.1 overall performance check, narrowly outperforming the dell XPS fifteen (Core i7-8750H; 21,201) and also the Asus ZenBook pro fifteen (Core i9-8950HK; 21,691). The MacBook pro fifteen (Core i9-8950HK; 23,138) had a small edge on the ThinkPad, with a score of 22,021. Still, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme is additional powerful than the typical premium laptop computer (13,996).
Our high-end configuration of the X1 Extreme matched 65,000 names to their corresponding addresses in barely forty seconds on the excel Macro check. The ZenBook pro fifteen (40 seconds) completed the check within the same quantity of your time, whereas the MacBook Pro (52 seconds) and also the XPS fifteen (44 seconds) lagged behind. The premium laptop computer average (1:29) took over doubly as long as the ThinkPad.
ThinkPad X1 Extreme Graphics and Battery
The X1 Extreme is meant for business professionals, prosumers, and gamers? affirmative, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme will double as an entry-level gambling machine due to its Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU with 4GB of VRAM. The dedicated GPU is powerful enough to play the latest titles at low-to-medium graphics settings.
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme scored a 154,719 on the 3DMark ice storm Unlimited graphics check, falling just behind the XPS fifteen (GTX 1050 Ti, 163,171) and also the ZenBook pro fifteen (GTX 1050 Ti, 174,523). the typical premium laptop computer (90,396) is way behind.
We achieved a solid thirty-five frames per second when enjoying Rise of the Tomb Raider on the X1 Extreme on terribly High graphics settings. That ace the XPS fifteen (22 fps) and also the Asus ZenBook pro fifteen (21 fps) however is below the premium laptop computer average (39 fps). At 56 fps, X1 Extreme additionally exceeded our 30-fps playability threshold when enjoying hitman on radical settings. The XPS fifteen (60 fps) and ZenBook pro fifteen (60 fps) were a small amount smoother.
Battery life on the 4K model of the X1 Extreme is unsatisfying. The laptop computer lasted simply six hours and seven minutes on the laptop mag Battery check, that involves continuous net surfing over Wi-Fi at one hundred fifty nits of display brightness. that is not terrible for a laptop computer with such a high-resolution panel, however it’s well below the 8:14 premium laptop computer average.
For comparison, the 4K version of the XPS fifteen (8:28) stayed battery-powered for over two hours longer than the X1 Extreme. And though the MacBook Pro’s (10:21) display is not quite as pixel-packed, the gulf in battery life is tough to ignore. The Asus ZenBook pro fifteen (4:23), with a 4K display and ScreenPad, battery-powered off long before the competitors.
What is the cost of the ThinkPad X1 Extreme?
I tested the $2,955 model of the X1 Extreme. the precise configuration features a 4K display, an Intel Core i7-8750H, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB PCIe-NVME OPAL2.0 M.2 SSD. For gaming, there is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU, that comes normal regardless of the configuration.
The base model of the X1 Extreme prices $1,580 and comes with an FHD display, a Core i5-8400H processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. Upgrading to a Core i7 processor and doubling the number of RAM and storage raises the value to $1,767.
The 4K display can burn a hole in your pocket. you will need to save lots of up $2,370 for an X1 Carbon with a UHD display and a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
Lenovo calls the top-of-the-line model the “X-tremely impressive Bundle,” however it ought to be dubbed the “X-tremely pricy Bundle.” For $3,217, this UHD config comes with a Core i7-8850H processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. in addition, you get an extended three-year warranty alongside a bunch of extras, as well as a USB dock and a wireless mouse.
- check out the price on Lenovo website
Our verdict
The X1 Extreme is actually a Jack-of-all-trades. The laptop computer is nice for business professionals because of its wonderful choice of ports and rugged, transportable style. For everyday consumers and power users, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme’s high-end parts will run even the foremost rigorous programs, and films and shows look beautiful on the vivid 4K HDR display. And with a GTX 1050 Ti GPU, even gamers have a reason to feel excited regarding the laptop computer.
Unfortunately, there are a couple of areas where the X1 Extreme falls short, together with its below-average battery life and regarding heat levels underneath a significant work. These shortcomings open the door for X1 Extreme’s competitors.
The dell XPS fifteen conjointly features an attractive 4K display, quick performance, and a fervent GPU, all prepackaged in a slim enticing style. However, the digital camera is poorly situated. The 15-inch MacBook professional is another contestant, because of its blazing-fast storage and long battery life. however you need even deeper pockets to afford the Apple laptop computer, and there’s no USB Type-A port for peripherals.
Overall, the X1 Extreme is a superb choice for business users, gamers, and everyday consumers who are in the marketplace for a premium laptop computer. So, to answer the question you have been wondering: affirmative, this extremely is an X-treme laptop computer.
What we like about the ThinkPad X1 Extreme
- Rugged yet light
- Powerful enough for gaming and content creation
- 4K HDR touchscreen
- Very good keyboard and trackpad
- Lots of ports and connectivity
What we did not like about the ThinkPad X1 Extreme
- Fan noise can be distracting
- Underwhelming battery life
- Extremely expensive